Vesak Day 2021 observed globally on 26 May
Vesak Day 2021 is observed globally on 26 May. Vesak, the Day of Full Moon is the most sacred day to Buddhists all over the world. On this day, Lord Gautham Buddha attained enlightenment. The Day is commemorated by the United Nations every year.
History of Vesak Day:
The Day is being celebrated by the United Nations since 2000. The resolution to celebrate the day was passed in 1999. Since 2004, International Vesak Summit is being organized. In 2019, it was held in Vietnam. So far, the summit has been held 11 times in Thailand, 3 times in Vietnam and 1 time in Sri Lanka. The decision to celebrate the birthday of Buddha as Vesak Day was first formalized at the World Fellowships of Buddhists conference that was held in Sri Lanka in 1950. The conference was attended by Buddhist leaders from several countries.
Casper Ruud wins Men’s Singles title at Geneva Open tennis
Norway’s Casper Ruud has won the ATP Geneva Open final with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory over Denis Shapovalov. Victory in Geneva means the Norwegian world number 21 is going to be among the top 16 seeds in Paris. A second career title lifted Ruud’s record to 2-2 in finals, all at clay-court events. The 22-year-old Norwegian’s previous title was at Buenos Aires last year.
Collinet Makosso appointed Republic of Congo’s new Prime Minister
The President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso has appointed Anatole Collinet Makosso as the country’s Prime Minister. He replaced Clement Mouamba, in-office since 2016. Before this appointment, Makosso was the education minister of the Central African country. He was also minister of youth and civic instruction from 2011 to 2016.
Since 2016, he has held the position of Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in charge of literacy. Mr Collinet Makosso was the deputy campaign manager of candidate Sassou Nguesso during the last presidential election.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Congo Capital: Brazzaville;
- Congo Currency: Congolese franc.
SpiceHealth wins Gold Stevie Award 2021
SpiceHealth, a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet, has won the Gold Award at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for ‘Most Valuable Medical Innovation’ under Covid19. At a time when Covid-19 was at an all-time excessive in India in November 2020, SpiceHealth, beneath the management of Avani Singh, disrupted the Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing house by providing checks in cell laboratories at ₹499, versus the then-present rate of ₹2,400 in Delhi and helped convey down Covid-19 testing price dramatically throughout the nation.
About the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards:
The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the one business awards program to recognise innovation within the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific area. The Stevie Awards are broadly thought about to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in applications akin to The International Business Awards for 19 years.
Ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley passes away
Max Mosley, the former head of Formula One’s governing body, has died at the age of 81 after suffering from cancer. The youngest son of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British fascist movement in the 1930s. Mosley was a racing driver, team owner and lawyer before becoming president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in 1993.
David Barnea Appointed as Israel’s Next Mossad Chief
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed David Barnea as the new head of the country’s spy agency, the Mossad. Barnea, a former longtime Mossad operative, will succeed Yossi Cohen as head of Israel’s intelligence agency on June 1. Cohen has served as Israel’s spymaster since taking office in 2016.
Barnea, who is in his 50s, lives in the Sharon region north of Tel Aviv. He did his military service in the elite Sayeret Matkal special operations force. About 30 years ago, he enlisted in the Mossad, where he became a case officer.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Israel Capital: Jerusalem.
- Israel Currency: Israeli Shekel.
Record-setting U.S. Olympic sprinter Lee Evans passes away
Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics then went onto a life of humanitarian work in support of social justice. Evans became the first man to crack 44 seconds in the 400 meters, winning the gold medal at the Mexico City Games in 43.86.
India-Israel signs 3-year program for Cooperation in Agriculture
India and Israel have inked a three-year joint work programme which will continue till 2023. A joint work programme was initiated with the aim of enhancing cooperation in agriculture. Under the new work programme, 13 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) were set up to make Indian farmers aware of Israeli farm and water technologies.
A model ecosystem in agriculture called Villages of Excellence (VoE) will also be created across eight states within 75 villages. The new programme will promote the increase in net income and enhance the livelihood of the individual farmer. India and Israel have completed four similar joint work programmes successfully.
Dr Harsh Vardhan chairs 74th World Health Assembly
Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chairman of WHO Executive Board, Dr Harsh Vardhan, chaired the 74th World Health Assembly in virtual mode. According to Dr Harsh Vardhan, the executive board has asked for further efforts which can ensure fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines under COVAX Facility. Director-General of World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros, also participated in the event.
Board recommended 74th World Health Assembly to consider the report on mental health preparedness and response for the Covid-19 pandemic. It further recommended endorsing updated comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan for 2013 to 2030 and encouraged WHO to work in collaboration with World Organisation for Animal Health and Food & Agriculture Organisation so that source of zoonotic virus can be identified.
Foreign direct investment jumps 19% to $59.64 bn in 2020-21
Foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country grew 19 per cent to USD 59.64 billion during 2020-21 on account of measures taken by the government on the fronts of policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business. Total FDI, including equity, re-invested earnings and capital, rose 10 per cent to the “highest ever” of USD 81.72 billion during 2020-21 as against USD 74.39 billion in 2019-20.
In terms of top investor countries, Singapore is at the top with a 29 per cent share. It was followed by the US (23 per cent) and Mauritius (9 per cent) during the last fiscal. FDI equity inflow grew by 19 per cent in 2020-21 (USD 59.64 billion), compared to 2019-20 (USD 49.98 billion).
Barclays pegs India’s FY22 GDP growth at 7.7%
Barclays has pegged India’s economic growth for fiscal 2021-22 (FY22), as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) at 7.7 per cent in the bear-case scenario if the country is hit by the third wave of the Covid pandemic going ahead. The economic cost, it believes, could rise by at least a further $42.6 billion, assuming another round of similar stringent lockdowns is imposed across the country for eight weeks later this year.
Mohali international hockey stadium renamed after Balbir Singh Senior
The Punjab Government finally announced to rename the Mohali International Hockey Stadium, after triple Olympian and Padma Shri Balbir Singh Sr. The stadium will now be known as Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium. The government also announced to start a scholarship scheme in the legend’s name for meritorious hockey players of the state.
Balbir Singh Sr played an important role in making the Indian hockey team a three-time Olympics champion. No one has been able to break his Olympics final record till date. He scored five goals in India’s 6-1 victory over the Netherlands in the final of the 1952 Olympic Games. He also was the manager of the 1975 World Cup-winning Indian team. The Punjab Government had honoured the legendary player with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award in 2019.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Punjab CM: Captain Amarinder Singh.
- Punjab Governor: V.P.Singh Badnore.
Cabinet approves Opening of a new Consulate General of India in Maldives
Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, the Maldives in 2021. India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity. Maldives occupies an important place in the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and the ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Government of India.
About the Consulate General:
- The opening of a Consulate General in Addu City will help augment India’s diplomatic presence in the Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement.
- The momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship have reached unprecedented levels under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih. This is also a forward-looking step in pursuit of our national priority of growth and development or ‘SabkaSaathSabka Vikas’.
- Augmentation of India’s diplomatic presence will, inter-alia, provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact in augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India or ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- President of the Maldives: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
- Capital of Maldives: Male; Currency of the Maldives: Maldivian Rufiyaa.
NPCI partners PayCore to help merchants accept contactless payments
The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) has partnered with Turkey’s global payment solutions company PayCore as one of the certified partners for RuPay SoftPOS to drive cashless payments across the country. RuPay SoftPOS enables merchants to accept payments securely from contactless cards, mobile wallets, and wearables just with their mobile phones.
Under this association:
- NPCI has authorized the SoftPOS solution developed by PayCore for RuPay. This solution can be integrated into bank or aggregator acquiring systems to enable acquiring of RuPay using mobile phones enabled with NFC capability or add-ons.
- Millions of merchants now can convert their near field communication-enabled (NFC) smartphones into a POS machine to accept contactless payments through RuPay SoftPOS.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- National Payments Corporation of India MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe.
- National Payments Corporation of India Headquarters: Mumbai.
- National Payments Corporation of India Founded: 2008.
SBI research: GDP likely grew by 1.3% in Q4 FY21
India’s GDP is likely to have grown at 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020-21 and may have contracted by about 7.3% for the full financial year, according to an SBI research report ‘Ecowrap’. The National Statistical Office (NSO) will release the GDP estimates for the March 2021 quarter and provisional annual estimates for the year 2020-21 on May 31.
State Bank of India (SBI) has developed a ‘nowcasting model’ with 41 high-frequency indicators associated with industry activity, service activity, and the global economy in collaboration with the State Bank Institute of Leadership (SBIL), Kolkata. The economics research team said that going by the estimate of 1.3% GDP growth, India would still be the fifth-fastest-growing country among 25 nations that have released their GDP numbers so far.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
- SBI Headquarters: Mumbai.
- SBI Founded: 1 July 1955.
